The development of modern endoscopic instrumentation has significantly affected the manner in which many surgical procedures are performed. Indeed, many procedures which have traditionally required large surgical incisions (e.g. laparotomy) may now be performed endoscopically, by inserting an endoscopic viewing device (e.g. a laparoscope, arthroscope, bronchoscope, etc.) along with various surgical instruments through natural body openings or small incisions.
The development of modern endoscopic surgical procedures has enabled surgeons to perform major operative procedures at relatively low risk, without the need for deep muscle relaxation and with minimal blood loss and minimal post-operative discomfort.
In particular, recent advancements in laparoscopic technology have enabled surgeons to perform various intra-abdominal surgical procedures through one or more relatively small (e.g. 1 cm) laparoscopy incisions rather than through the traditional, relatively large (e.g. 5-20 cm) laparotomy incision. Although the laparoscopic technology is advanced enough to permit surgeons to laparoscopically excise various tissues and/or organs within a body cavity, (e.g. tumor removal, appendectomy, nephrectomy, cholecystectomy, etc.) the ultimate success and feasibility of such laparoscopic surgery is often confounded by the fact that the excised tissue, organ or other matter may simply be too large to be extracted from the body cavity through the relatively small (e.g. 1 cm) laparoscopy incision. In such instance, it may be necessary to enlarge the laparoscopy incision in order to effect extraction and removal of the excised tissue or other matter. Such need for enlargement of the laparoscopy incision partially negates the benefits of performing the procedure laparoscopically because enlargement of the incision is likely to cause additional post-operative discomfort and is likely to increase post-operative recovery time.
Similar problems in extracting and removing tissue or organs may be experienced in other contemporary endoscopic surgical procedures, including those which are performed through natural body openings such as the oral cavity, urethra, vagina, rectum, etc.
The present invention may be used with any type of endoscopic surgical procedure wherein it is desired to remove a mass of tissue or other matter from the body through a relatively small opening. Because the present invention is particularly applicable to intra-abdominal laparoscopic surgical procedures, the invention will be described herein with particular reference thereto. The making of such particular reference to laparoscopic surgical procedures shall not, however, constitute a limitation on the overall description and intended application of the present invention. In fact, in addition to intra-abdominal laparoscopic procedures, the present invention may be usable in many other types of procedures, including but not limited to transurethral removal of bladder stones, standard cholecystotomy and a modified cholecystotomy procedure known as "mini-cholecystostomy" wherein the gallbladder is, under laparoscopic guidance, displaced and sutured onto the peritoneal wall with subsequent formation of an incision or stoma through the abdominal wall, directly into the stone-containing gallbladder. Furthermore, the device of the present invention may be inserted into an organ to reduce and/or remove the contents thereof without the need for initial excision of the organ. For example, the device of the present invention may be inserted directly through the abdominal wall and into the gallbladder, urinary bladder or other sac-like structure wherein the device may be utilized to reduce the size of and/or remove aberrant material (e.g. calculi) contained within the organ, without the need for excision and removal thereof.